"The Diamond Heist" directed by Jesse Vile

Review by Antony Cirocco, 14-05-2025

The Diamond Heist is a 3-part true crime series written and directed by Jesse Vile released 16th of April 2025. It’s a true crime documentary oozing with sassy reenactments that glorify violence and toxic masculinity, true to form for Guy Ritchie. In fact, Ritchie was attached to this project but it was not “his creation” as some critics have attested to, in fact, Ritchie was Executive Producer along with 2 others…not the Director. However, the Ritchie's influence is evident throughout with multiple homages to “Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels”, so if that film floated your boat, then you are in for a real world treat.

"The Diamond Heist" - Official Movie Poster

It’s the early 2000’s, A ragtag bunch of career criminals decide to lift their game and aim for the stars by taking down the now infamous London Millennium Dome… or more specifically, the De Beers Millennium Star, a Diamond of 203 carats worth an astronomical 350 million pounds. 

This film unabashedly thwarts the style versus substance balance in favour of style as it trains its eye on mainstream documentary audiences. It does this really well, the story is well structured, the reenactments are dynamic and well produced, and the interviews are engaging and fun. The film deep dives into the culture around the Millennium Dome in the early 2000’s and contrasts that with the lives of those living deep in the heart of England's criminal underworld.

Set in the backdrop of every day London this documentary builds a story about place, time, planning and the backstories of the main character Lee Wenham in the lead up to the “fuck me” moment that will leave the audience agasp. 

The Direction of the film is excellent, it’s loud, dynamic and in your face, nothing like a normal documentary. 

While this story is 25 years old at the time of release, hearing the protagonist Wenham speak about the crime for the first time is enough to make the audience want to re-engage with the story. The film delves into previous crimes in an effort to provide back story, which is enlightening and fun. The lead up to the diamond heist lays bare the detailed preparation of Wenham and the gang and the director then takes us through a series of interviews with Wenham by the dim and dusty workshop light where the heist planning began. 

The film culminates with the events in the lead up to the Diamond Heist, including reenactments, old photographs, CCTV footage and interviews with other stakeholders.

The Direction of the film is excellent, it’s loud, dynamic and in your face, nothing like a normal documentary. The access the Director has to Wenham’s personal life is exemplary, including childhood photographs and extensive interviews with his family, where the relationship between father and daughter is delved into.

The cinematography is first class, and fitting a feature film, it looks glossy and expensive whilst maintaining an air of the seedy underworld and impending trouble.The editing is high impact, hard cutting between family photos and a shark stalking the audience in the water, it's brilliant.  The music bespoke to the cut and accompanied by sound design, it’s again cinematic and it drives the emotion and mood of every scene, at times the documentary feels like your watching a music video, it’s a celebration of story, culture and everything edgy about the late 90’s early 2000’s

Ethically, I have no discomfort in saying that this film glorifies crime. There are Police interviews as well for balance, yes but don’t be confused, this is the celebration of crime and honour among thieves…if you believe that nonsense. The Danger and the fear that Wenham must have reaped during his many crimes is kinda…overlooked. I was not expecting victim impact statements, but the focus on how rich investors were put out by the theft, says nothing about the police and general public that would have been scarred for life by such events. 

There is no question about the journalistic accuracy of the events, as many of the events had passed and much of the story was told by credible witnesses who possessed a level of detail in their interviews that put the truth beyond doubt, the producers and director have done well there.

This film is an exploration of fringe dwellers among us who choose a path that is dangerous, exciting and fraught with peril. Wenham isn’t exactly filled with airs and graces and swears constantly throughout but the visual style also is a bit of a F.U. to the conservative establishment of London's diamonds and pearls society types…and I really like it. The quick cuts, hip hop and stylised approach to reflexive storytelling is right up there with films like “Bowling for Columbine”, Michael Moore’s classic. It’s that good, it makes you want to watch a documentary even if you normally wouldn’t and for that reason, coupled with a down-to-earth honesty, ironic considering Wenhams chosen vocation, it’s special, it's different, it’s really good.

This film is excellent because despite the edgy nature of the story and the lead character, the use of montage, music, archival and narrative set this film apart. It deserves big things. More focus on the victims of the crimes would have been better, but considering the size and scale of the overall narrative, that could be overlooked.

This film is worth watching, it’s fun, exciting and real. Filmmakers and Investors should look at this film and consider what is possible with a big budget and a real story but without a strong crew, there are no guarantees. 

This film will not disappoint but it’s not for everyone. It’s a bit scary, not for kids or for the faint-hearted but for everyone else it’s a cracking story well told 4.5 stars out of 5 for me.

Review by Antony Cirocco

Check out the trailer